----------------------------
The
Pink Room: Thoughts About Intentional Living
Chapter
7/ Grace Abides.
Part
3 (Previous post contain the previous chapters.)
----------------------------
Green
Bay people are crazy--they LOVE their Packers. They love Aaron Rodgers. He has
a quirky sense of humor that I enjoy. He is known for photo-bombing the team
captain picture at each game. After winning a game with the Vikings he has
appeared at the press conference drinking a Grape Crush or at another one, he
wore the sweater Jeffery, “The Dude,” wore in The Big Lebowski—certain
circles went crazy, even ESPN had an article about just that. (I guess he loves
the movie.)
I started attending a new church a few years ago, and have
felt so “at home” there that I talk about it all the time. It has become a safe
place to be—I can be myself, I can sit and be still, I can seek God and be with
Him—they even have a small coffee shop so I can get a nice warm drink and “be”
with that too—which is sort of wonderful. I was blessed enough to also have a
safe home, and some great friends’ homes, that I could spend time in without thought
or worry. And as a family, invite people into our home all the time.
In high school and in college—I started spending a
significant amount of time with other families. I learned it was a big deal to
have more than ten people over at one time. Other families were not as large as
my extended family (both sides.) Most families only had a couple people around
at any-given holiday. On my mom’s side there were six siblings who were all
married and all had kids; on my dad’s side there were even more, and they also
all had kids. I’ve lost track, but I have something like fifty first cousins
and at least that many second cousins—and I know them by name. Now, there are
third cousins…I don’t know them.
I learned to love having guests. We had it down to a
science. It was common to see thirty or so people on a given holiday. Hosting
was fun. I found it more difficult to be a guest. The smaller the party, the
more anxious I’d feel.
During college, I would be with families for a few days
or a week. I didn’t want to burden anyone or put them out—trying to be a good
guest is exhausting. It was hard to gauge what was the way their cohort did
things.
It was nice to acquire that information about friends. Knowing how they live,
to see the part of life not everyone gets to see.
Something
about knowing where someone comes from or just where they live, gives a whole
new insight into their life and personality.
Last
summer I had the privilege of visiting Amman, and Petra in Jordan, and
Jerusalem in Israel. I’ve always wanted to see where Jesus lived. My brother
lived in Amman for a couple years and was preparing to leave and take a new
job. We talked and he still wanted to see Jerusalem so I asked if I could go. It
was nice to see where he’d been for the last two years.
When
I returned home, people were asking me if seeing Jerusalem impacted my life or
if it changed my faith. It didn’t deepen my faith but I did feel a new sense of
understanding because I had been where Jesus lived. (Granted, it looked
different then.) I saw the remnant of Solomon’s temple, experienced the
culture, and went to Bethlehem. I feel like I saw His house. (Well, we did see
the site of the old temple.) Just like visiting a person’s home…you get to know
them.
-----------------------
Abiding seems a little less holy with “The Dude” than
with God—abiding is to live in, or being in one accord with—it is Grace in our life and
experiences, and being together in harmony.
In healthy relationships, including with God, we find
places to abide—it leads to being known. If we really learn to abide it looks
most like learning how to receive love. Since the Bible says: love covers a
multitude of sins, I think it is also resting in the fact that we are not
perfect but still loved.
